Oregon Territory

Oregon Territory
This territory was originally inhabited by Native Americans; the region that became the Oregon Territory was explored by Europeans first by sea. The first documented exploration came in 1776 by the Spanish, with British and American vessels visiting the region within a few years. Later, land based exploration by Alexander Mackenzie and the Lewis and Clark Expedition along with the establishment of the fur trade in the region set up a variety of conflicting territorial claims by European powers and the United States These conflicts led to several treaties, including the Treaty of 1818 that set up a "joint occupation" between the United States and the British over the region that included parts of the current U.S. states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and Montana as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia. During the period of joint occupation, most activity in the region outside of the activities of the indigenous people came from the fur trade, which was dominated by the British's Hudson's Bay Company. Overtime, some trappers began to settle down in the area and began farming, and missionaries started to arrive in the 1830s. Some settlers also began arriving in the late 1830s, and covered wagons crossed the Oregon Trail beginning in 1841. At that time, no government existed in the Oregon Country, as no one nation held dominion over the territory.
A group of settlers in the Willamette Valley began meeting 1841 to discuss organizing a government for the area. These earliest documented discussions, concerning forming a government, were held in an early pioneer and Native American encampment and later town known as Champoeg, Oregon. These first Champoeg Meetings eventually led to further discussions and in 1843 the creation of the Provisional Government of Oregon. In 1846, the Oregon boundary dispute between the U.S. and Britain was settled with the signing of Oregon Treaty. The British gained sole possession of the land north of...